


A Greater Gift

by Artemis_Egeria



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AUgust 2020, AUgust Day 30, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Magic, Drama, F/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:14:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27122341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_Egeria/pseuds/Artemis_Egeria
Summary: All the witches, wizards, and sorcerers of all kinds throughout the land were called together to present their gifts to the newborn princess. They convened at the palace on the appointed day. One of the wizards had not been seen for many years. One of the witches had been searching for him, but she had found no trace of him until this day.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 9
Kudos: 21
Collections: AE's Scarlet Vision AUgust 2020





	A Greater Gift

All the witches, wizards, and sorcerers of all kinds throughout the land were called together to present their gifts to the newborn princess. They convened at the palace on the appointed day. One of the wizards had not been seen for many years. One of the witches had been searching for him, but she had found no trace of him until this day.

All the magical folk gathered in a circle around the princess’s crib. The king handed the princess to the first witch, who cradled the girl like she was made of glass. She pressed a charm for her to stay strong into her forehead.

The girl was passed around the circle until she reached Wanda Maximoff. She placed an amulet over the girl’s head. She had imbued it with the most powerful magic she knew to help the girl see the opportunity in every failure and always rise again.

Wanda was the last person in the circle until someone slipped in beside her at the last moment. She almost dropped the baby in her shock, but she just cradled her closer to her chest. She realized exactly who it was.

Tentatively, she handed the princess over toward the tall, thin figure next to her, waiting until his hands stopped shaking. She noted his gloves and the hood pulled down low over his face. He whispered a lilting incantation over the tiny bundled who burbled happily in his arms. After a brief touch of his fingertip to her cheek, he handed her back to the king without another word.

The royal couple welcomed everyone to the great hall after the gifting ceremony was complete. Wanda ignored the stream of people flowing toward the feast. The figure who had come late was already moving quickly toward the exit. Wanda followed after him; she wasn’t going to let him escape her again.

She caught up to him as he was climbing on his horse. “Were you just going to walk away without so much as a hello?”

He turned slowly to look at her. She still could not see his face, but his hood was turned in her direction. “I was not certain that you would want to see me.”

Wanda suppressed a scream at the obliviousness of her former lover. “Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? Since you left.”

“Oh.” Wanda thought that was all he was going to say until he added, “I expected you to move on.” The words were forced out of him with the greatest reluctance.

Wanda used the last of her self-control to stop herself from shaking him. “Well, you were wrong. So, you’re even more foolish than I thought if you believe I’m letting you out of my sight.”

Vision’s head drooped. “I am sorry. I did not realize. I will speak with you, but not here.” He climbed atop his horse. “If you follow me, I will take you to a private place.”

“Fine.” She lifted into the air above him as he started out.

It was a surprisingly short journey into the nearby forests. Wanda cursed at the thought that he might have been so close all this time. He apparently sensed her thoughts because he said, “I did travel for some years, but I returned here when my experiments failed.”

“What sort of experiments?”

“I will explain when we reach my home.” The rest of the trip passed in silence. Vision came to a stop in front of a small hut in a secluded glen. Wanda gasped at the sheer beauty of the garden. It was just like the one he used to tend in front of her house.

He ushered Wanda inside. It was also just as she would have expected. Immaculately kept. Almost empty aside from a few books and magical instruments. She made herself at home in one of the few chairs, staring him down. “We’re alone. Now please talk to me.”

He appeared as if he was trying to shrink into the floor. “Yes, I owe you. But there is something I must show you first.” Vision removed his gloves, and she was shocked to see the red skin tone and the swirling silver runes disappearing into his sleeves. Then, he removed his hood to reveal the same designs across his face and neck. The feature she focused on the most was his bald head. She had loved to run her fingers through his golden hair.

But he was still the most handsome man she had ever seen. “What were you trying to do?”

“I was trying to make myself worthy of you.” He let his hands drift down to his sides. “As you can see, I failed.”

“Vizh, you were never unworthy of me in the first place. I told you I wanted you. Nothing has changed.” She reached out to trace one of the runes on his cheek. His eyes fluttered closed at the contact. “But what did you do to yourself?”

He removed her hand from his cheek, holding it gently between both of his. “I am afraid that that is the wrong question to ask.” She opened her mouth to question him. “I will explain why.” She subsided, still struck by the look of terror and despair in his eyes. “The truth is that this is my true appearance. I am not human.”

Wanda felt her mouth fall open. “What?” She must have misheard him.

“I am not human.” Apparently, she didn’t mishear. He had paused to allow her to catch up, but she nodded for him to go on, even though she had not fully absorbed this new information. “I am a being of pure magic, given form by a few sorcerers in a far-away land. I am sure you recall that I always avoided talking about my childhood.” She nodded again. It was one of the things that had first bonded them together. They both had pasts that they wanted to escape from. “Well, the truth is that I had no childhood. I was born, so to speak, fully grown as you see me standing before you now.”

Wanda felt shock at his admission, but looking back now, it did make a number of small questions over the years make sense. She urged her attention back to the present, as he was continuing on. “Before I decided to leave my home to seek my own way, I found a witch who offered to make me a glamour that would help me seem human. Then, I met you, and we started our life together.”

Vision took a deep breath, which Wanda realized now was an affectation. “I apologize very deeply for my dishonesty, but I grew too afraid to lose you to risk telling the truth. Then, we began to talk of forever and having children. I knew that was not a possibility for me. One day, the glamour disappeared, so I took that as a sign that I should leave before I caused any more damage.”

She narrowed her eyes at Vision. There was too much guilt in his expression. Wanda suspected that it was not merely for leaving her. “Did you go looking for another glamour?”

Vision looked her in the eye, but quickly glanced away again. “Yes. But the witch who helped me was nowhere to be found. And I was unable to recreate one that was quite so life-like.”

Wanda folded her arms across her chest. “What would you have done if you found one?”

“I do not know.” He released her hand and sank into a chair.

“Would you have just gone on lying to me?” She had to know. If they were to truly start again, everything needed to be out in the open.

“I do not know.” The words barely came out as a whisper. He collapsed in on himself. His posture was the least composed Wanda had ever seen.

Wanda took a moment to let everything sink. She hadn’t intended to keep punishing him when he clearly was doing it enough to himself, only to get him to be honest. At least, Vision didn’t blithely claim that, of course, he would have told her the truth. She lowered herself to kneel beside him. Placing her hands on his knees, she tried to catch his gaze, but he only stared into his folded hands. “So, I assume you didn’t find a solution.”

“No. I was prepared to isolate myself in this cabin forever, but I received an invitation to bless the princess. I just had to give my gift.”

Wanda sighed. She tried, “Vizh.” He did not move. “Please look at me.” He finally raised his head. “Love is for souls not bodies. I fell in love with your kindness and your humility and your wit. None of that has anything to do with your face or your origin.”

Vision’s eyes brightened a bit before dimming once more. “I still lied to you for far too long.”

“Yes. And I am angry about that, but I did not fall in love with you easily, and I did not fall out of love easily either. I still loved you, even though you left me without an explanation. I’ve searched for you all these years, and I still love you now.”

“Words cannot express my regret at the pain I have caused you.”

“I know. That’s why I’m willing to give you another chance.”

“Thank you. I will spend the rest of our days together attempting to make it up to you.”

“Good.” Wanda finally smiled up at him. She was still getting used to his true form, but the soul that she had long loved shone clearly through his eyes. “I have a lot of questions about _everything_. But you can start by telling me about your travels. You had better have some interesting stories.”

“Well…” He raised her hands, urging her to her feet. She considered sitting in the other chair but decided against it. Instead, she settled sideways on his lap, draping her legs over the armrest. Vision smiled his first true smile of the night and rested his arms around her. “There was one time that I ran afoul of a troll.”

**Author's Note:**

> I always love a good excuse to use probably the most iconic Scarlet Vision line.


End file.
